Listen and Respond with Empathy

As a leader, you encounter people’s feelings of success, failure, pride, and frustration frequently—perhaps even daily. When someone in your group expresses emotion, whether verbally or nonverbally, you can listen and respond with empathy to let that person know that you understand. Use Empathy to:

 

• Defuse negative emotions—Strong emotions can be an obstacle to achieving the purpose of the discussion. Identifying and addressing these feelings meets people’s need to be heard, yet keeps the discussion moving forward.

• Empathize with positive feelings too—It’s important to show people that you understand their positive feelings. This shows that you’re really listening.

• Respond to both facts and feelings—Saying "I understand" is less effective than saying "I can see why you’re worried about meeting a deadline that you feel is unrealistic." Which one shows you’re really listening?


When you listen and show you understand, you allow others to express exactly how they feel. They see that you care. Using Empathy builds a bridge for two-way communication.